Of teachers' unions and evaluations

The teachers' union is upset about the new performance pay system, which I believe focuses on (1) school test score improvement and (2) individual teacher test score improvement. Now, I am not sure if I am going to be screwed by this system, because my kids are transitioning and therefore will score lower, especially in reading and writing.

The union is angered enough that it apparently has asked teachers to stay out from after-school activities next week, to "show our value" or something of the sort. Having not been at the union meeting, I can't attest to the precise explanation. I'm going to stay in, as I want to work with my students... I'm there for them, and I don't want them to be hurt by an absence. (How much are "the students," in a broader perspective, hurt by the pay system perhaps lowering morale and unity among teachers? No idea, to be honest. But I'm still grappling with effectiveness and tutorials are one of the more effective places for me to work with them. I don't want to hurt the low ones right now. Perhaps when I am more effective in the classroom I will feel justified to do such things.)

Unfortunately, either way I act it is inevitably a personal statement. I don't honestly know what the right thing to do is right now. I don't know the history of the union's relationship with the district and the background to bargaining; I can't state for myself who's right and who's wrong. I don't even know who on my campus comes down on what side and who I would possibly irritate. Given that, I want to take the route that will be least harmful to the kids (in the immediate "my class" sense) while I get my bearings on the whole thing.

Another question is--can we implement a performance pay system in any other way, given current circumstances? I was pondering this... the only way I see to do evaluations, beyond test scores, is in-person reviews. While I like my principal and school and believe that evaluations would be fair, plenty of stories I hear suggest that this trust and the potential for fair reviews don't exist at many campuses, that is, the lack of good administration, in addition to preventing academic progress from students, also would preempt an efficient teacher incentive system and discourage good teachers. Independent review? Perhaps an idea worth looking into, but will the union go for it? I'm not optimistic.

And on the subject of evaluations: in evaluating my own progress as a teacher, there's lots of progress to be made. I've started reading Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe, and I think it will really change the way I approach curriculum. More updates on that to come as I progress.